


Money Well Spent

by LadyOneiroi



Category: The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: Christmas Presents, Crushes, Dallas has a potty mouth, Fluff, Gift Giving, M/M, the empty lot as a hotbed for salacious homosexual interludes or something
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2016-05-13
Packaged: 2018-06-08 03:44:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6837796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyOneiroi/pseuds/LadyOneiroi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tis the season.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Money Well Spent

He had counted the bills in the envelope time and time again, every time he got home he was compelled to. His parents couldn’t possibly know about the money, but he was frightened all the same. If his parents knew – if _anyone_ knew – then all his work would be for nothing.

Oh, he had worked so hard. He took up whatever part time jobs he could, did any errands that came his way. Finally, just two days before Christmas, he had all he needed. It filled him with such a sense of pride, knowing he had done this himself. His work would surely pay off.

Still, he was trembling when he confronted Dallas in the empty lot. The hood was sitting and smoking, unwilling to head back to Buck’s until the cowboy’s family had been sent packing. The older boy had been crashing on the Curtis couch for the last few days, but that was too open for Johnny. This had to be special. This had to be done between just the two of them.

He thrust the package into Dallas’ bony hands. The blond furrowed his brow, staring down at the festive reindeer wrapping.

“The fuck?”

His words were short and to the point, and made Johnny swallow hard.

“Open it.” he urged.

Dallas’ icy eyes walked all over Johnny, as if giving the kid one last chance to take back whatever he was offering. Then he tore the paper open, with little regard to how carefully Johnny had cut, wrapped, and taped the box. This obviously irritated Dallas, this box. He just wanted to get to the bottom of things, and tossed the lid over his shoulder as he peered in.

Then he smiled. It reminded Johnny of nothing so much as the green creature in a book his mother once read to him.

“Shit, man, how’d you manage to get this one past security?”

The smile on Dallas’ face had relaxed, and it made the younger boy shiver. The uncharacteristically gentle look on the New Yorker’s face made him almost handsome, and set Johnny’s stomach in knots. It was just the reaction he had wanted, to see Dallas happy.

“I bought it for you, Dal.”

The blond laughed, then stopped when he saw how serious Johnny was. The leather jacket in his hands was fit for a king, not some dirty hood. The money Johnny must have spent on the damn thing could have gotten him a lot of good things. It might even have bought him a way out of his parent’s house.

He had enough money to buy the world, and he spent it all on some tow-headed delinquent.

Johnny did not flinch when Dallas stood, towering over his slender frame, his eyes shielded from view by his white hair. Johnny just kept smiling. Dallas is happy, or was, for a few moments. Even if he got bawled out now, it would be worth it.

Johnny's smiling lips are smothered, for the briefest of moments. A wordless thank you from a boy who never learned his manners. As Dallas pulled away, he said three little words.

“You stupid fuck.”

He wrapped his jacket around his shoulders and trudged off through the snow, leaving a very content boy in his wake.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow hello Outsiders fandom I'm here reposting my own works from tumblr. Again. For now.  
> No promises how long I can stay since other fandoms are calling, but behold. I come bearing shipfic.  
> I have so many Johnny/Dally works I might as well make a drabble collection next time I post.


End file.
